Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge Hunting Plan, with Compatibility

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Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge Hunting Plan, with Compatibility U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge Draft Hunting Plan April 2019 Photo Credit: George Gentry (USFWS) Appendix A. Compatibility Determination Appendix B. Environmental Assessment Appendix C. Intra-Service Section 7 Evaluation Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge Hunting Plan U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge 30 Wikis Way Chatham, MA 02633 Submitted By: Project Leader ______________________________________________ ____________ Signature Date Concurrence: Refuge Supervisor ______________________________________________ ____________ Signature Date Approved: Regional Chief, National Wildlife Refuge System ______________________________________________ ____________ Signature Date Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1 II. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES ......................................................................................... 3 III. DESCRIPTION OF HUNTING PROGRAM ...................................................................... 4 A. Areas to be Opened to Hunting .......................................................................................... 4 B. Species to be Taken, Hunting Periods, Hunting Access .................................................... 4 C. Hunter Permit Requirements (if applicable) ...................................................................... 4 D. Consultation and Coordination with the State ................................................................... 5 E. Law Enforcement .............................................................................................................. 5 F. Funding and Staffing Requirements .................................................................................. 6 IV. CONDUCT OF THE HUNTING PROGRAM ................................................................... 6 A. Hunter Permit Application, Selection, and/or Registration Procedures ............................ 6 B. Refuge-Specific Hunting Regulations ............................................................................... 7 C. Relevant State Regulations ................................................................................................ 8 D. Other Refuge Rules and Regulations for Hunting ............................................................ 8 E. Access ................................................................................................................................ 9 V. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ..................................................................................................... 9 A. Outreach for Announcing and Publicizing the Hunting Program ..................................... 9 B. Anticipated Public Reaction to the Hunting Program ....................................................... 9 C. How Hunters Will Be Informed of Relevant Rules and Regulations ................................ 9 VI. COMPATIBILITY DETERMINATION ........................................................................... 10 Appendices Appendix A. Compatibility Determination…………………………………………………….A-1 Appendix B. Environmental Assessment………………………………………………………B-1 Appendix C. Intra-Service Section 7 Evaluation ………………………………………………C-1 List of Figures Figure 1.1. Aerial map of Monomoy NWR showing the Refuge Boundaries, Headquarters and Visitor Contact Station, and proposed waterfowl hunting area ….……………………………...11 Figure 2.2. Aerial map of Monomoy NWR, showing the Refuge boundaries, including the Monomoy Wilderness Boundary………………………………………………………………...12 Figure 3.3. Map of Eastern Massachusetts NWR Complex, including Monomoy NWR……….13 Figure 4.4. Areas of Monomoy NWR Closed to Coyote Hunting……………………………….14 Hunting Plan – April 2019 MONOMOY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE HUNTING PLAN I. INTRODUCTION Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge (NWR, refuge) was established June 1, 1944 pursuant to a Declaration of Taking “… for use as an inviolate sanctuary, or for other management purpose, for migratory birds” under authority of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. § 715d). Throughout the initial designation process for the refuge, the Monomoy area was recognized as an “outstanding waterfowl area” and as “one of the finest shorebird beaches in North America” (Salyer 1938) and for the eelgrass (Zostera spp.) beds in shoal waters northwest of Inward Point on the Common Flats (Griffith 1938) that were described as “dense” beds in 1929 (Hotchkiss and Ekvall 1929). The biological values of this area helped define the refuge boundary. The Declaration of Taking, which was implemented through a condemnation action, includes a detailed written description of an extensive western area containing upland, intertidal flats, and submerged lands and waters, as well as a map generally outlining those exterior limits and describing them as the “Limits of Area to be Taken.” The eastern boundary is the mean low water line and is ambulatory, meaning it moves as the mean low water line moves with accretion and erosion of the shoreline. This taking was approved by the District Court of the United States in February 1944 and took immediate effect on June 1, 1944, when it was filed in Federal court. In 1970, Congress designated approximately 2,600 acres of land as wilderness to become part of the National Wilderness Preservation System, thereby preserving the wilderness character of the Monomoy Islands. The Monomoy wilderness extends to the mean low water mark, and the size of the wilderness area has changed over time as the Monomoy landform and surrounding intertidal lands have shifted. With the designation of national wilderness at Monomoy, the original establishing purpose of the refuge — management and protection of migratory birds — was expanded to include management and protection of wilderness character and values. Thus, in order to meet specific refuge and other broader U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) directives, the following purposes are established for Monomoy NWR: • For lands acquired under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 (16 U.S.C. §715- 715r), as amended, “…for use as an inviolate sanctuary, or for any other management purpose, for migratory birds….” (16 U.S.C. §715d) • “…to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness.” (78 Stat. 890:16 U.S.C. 1121 (note), 1131-1136, Wilderness Act of 1964, as amended) Monomoy NWR is managed as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System), whose mission is “to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge 1 Hunting Plan – April 2019 habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans” (Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997). The act requires that refuges restore and maintain the integrity, diversity, and environmental health necessary to achieve this mission and the purposes established for each refuge. Further, the act defines six wildlife-dependent uses that are to receive enhanced consideration on refuges: hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photography, and environmental education and interpretation. Monomoy NWR stretches for 8 miles off the elbow of Cape Cod in the Town of Chatham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. This 7,898 -acre refuge includes South Monomoy, North Monomoy Island, Minimoy Island, 40 acres on Morris Island where the headquarters and visitor contact station are located (Figure 1.1), and all waters within the Declaration of Taking to a fixed line west of the islands. Nearly half (47 percent) the refuge, including most of refuge land above the mean low water (MLW) mark, is designated as a wilderness area, currently the only wilderness area in southern New England (Figure 1.2). Monomoy NWR is one of eight refuges that make up the Eastern Massachusetts NWR Complex (Refuge Complex), which is headquartered in Sudbury, Massachusetts (Figure 1.3). The barrier islands are part of a dynamic coastal zone, characterized by an ever-changing landscape. Salt and freshwater marshes, dunes, and ponds provide nesting, resting, and feeding habitat for migratory birds. There is a long history of waterfowl hunting in the open waters off Monomoy Island. The Monomoy Branting Club of Boston was established near Shooter’s Island and Inward Point in 1862 as steam powered the industrial revolution and leisure time increased (Roscoe 1995, Phillips 1932). Atlantic brant was the principle game sought by club members in sink boxes (Deane 1885) each spring from 1863 through 1909, when spring brant hunting was abolished (Bent 1925, Phillips 1932). Fall sport hunting continued, but was generally less successful than spring hunting due to differing seasonal migration patterns (Bent 1925, Phillips 1932). Today, waterfowl hunting occurs in the Chatham area and commercial guides advertise for waterfowl hunts around Monomoy, but none have requested a refuge permit to operate within the refuge. It is likely these commercial guides are not aware the refuge has never been opened for waterfowl or any other form of hunting. The actual numbers of commercial guides operating within the refuge, the number of waterfowl hunters that are being commercially guided, where or when they hunt, or what they harvest is unknown. Coyotes are found abundantly throughout Massachusetts and on the refuge. Evidence of
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